Abnormalities in emotion processing within cortical and subcortical regions in criminal psychopaths

Müller, Jürgen; Sommer, Monika; Wagner, Verena; Lange, Kirsten; Taschler, Heidrun; Röder, Christian; Schuierer, Gerhardt; Klein, Helmfried E.; Hajak, Göran

doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(02)01749-3

Cited by 233 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…This supported the hypothesis of a dysfunctional top-down modelling effect via OFC and amygdala in psychopathy [65]. The same study reported hyperactivation (and correlates of psychopathy) of the right amygdala (processing of negative emotions), hippocampus (processing and regulation of emotions, and memory consolidation) and left temporal cortex (arousal regulation), while reporting hypoactivation of the right temporal cortex (arousal regulation).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…Müller et al [65] showed increased activation of the OFC, dlPFC, right amygdala and right insula upon exposure to negative pictures in individuals with psychopathy compared to controls. This supported the hypothesis of a dysfunctional top-down modelling effect via OFC and amygdala in psychopathy [65].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The same study reported hyperactivation (and correlates of psychopathy) of the right amygdala (processing of negative emotions), hippocampus (processing and regulation of emotions, and memory consolidation) and left temporal cortex (arousal regulation), while reporting hypoactivation of the right temporal cortex (arousal regulation). Functional changes in temporal cortices supported a dysfunctional lateralisation of arousal regulation in psychopathy [65]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Functional Neuroimaging in Psychopathy

et al. 2015

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Background and Aim: Psychopathy is associated with cognitive and affective deficits causing disruptive, harmful and selfish behaviour. These have considerable societal costs due to recurrent crime and property damage. A better understanding of the neurobiological bases of psychopathy could improve therapeutic interventions, reducing the related social costs. To analyse the major functional neural correlates of psychopathy, we reviewed functional neuroimaging studies conducted on persons with this condition. Methods: We searched the PubMed database for papers dealing with functional neuroimaging and psychopathy, with a specific focus on how neural functional changes may correlate with task performances and human behaviour. Results: Psychopathy-related behavioural disorders consistently correlated with dysfunctions in brain areas of the orbitofrontal-limbic (emotional processing and somatic reaction to emotions; behavioural planning and responsibility taking), anterior cingulate-orbitofrontal (correct assignment of emotional valence to social stimuli; violent/aggressive behaviour and challenging attitude) and prefrontal-temporal-limbic (emotional stimuli processing/response) networks. Dysfunctional areas more consistently included the inferior frontal, orbitofrontal, dorsolateral prefrontal, ventromedial prefrontal, temporal (mainly the superior temporal sulcus) and cingulated cortices, the insula, amygdala, ventral striatum and other basal ganglia. Conclusions: Emotional processing and learning, and several social and affective decision-making functions are impaired in psychopathy, which correlates with specific changes in neural functions.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Functional Neuroimaging in Psychopathy

et al. 2015

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“…Psychopaths show decreased autonomic reactivity to emotional stimuli, as compared with nonpsychopaths, particularly when the stimuli depict fearful or threatening content (Lykken, 1957;Patrick, 1994) or others in distress (Aniskiewicz, 1979;Blair, Jones, Clark, & Smith, 1997), as well as impaired identification of fearful facial expressions and vocal expressions of fear (Blair, 1999;Blair et al, 2004;Blair, Mitchell, & Richell, 2002). Neuro imaging studies have shown that psychopaths, relative to nonpsychopaths, show increased lateral and superior prefrontal activity (Gordon, Baird, & End, 2004;Kiehl et al, 2001;Müller et al, 2003) and diminished limbic activity (Birbaumer et al, 2005;Gordon et al, 2004;Kiehl et al, 2001; but see Müller et al, 2003) to emotional stimuli, including unpleasant words or facial expressions. These findings indicate that psychopathy does not merely represent the "low end" of the normal spectrum of emotional reactiv-1991), and psychopathic personality, which is associated with attenuated reactivity to negative emotional stimuli (Lykken, 1957;Patrick, 1994).…”

Section: Psychopathic Personality and Decreased Emotional Reactivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroticism and psychopathy predict brain activation during moral and nonmoral emotion regulation

Harenski

Kim

Hamann

2009

Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience

112

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“…The whole offender group had increased BOLD activity, compared to the HC group, in specific nodes in the neural network involved in perceiving and processing facial information [34] namely bilateral amygdala, cingulate gyrus, and left hippocampus. In studies applying brain imaging techniques to other groups of antisocial subjects, functional impairments in the frontal lobes [37] and the limbic system [38,39] have been demonstrated, and a suggested impairment in the balance between these two systems has been described [40][41][42]. These studies have reported both hypoactivity [38,43] and hyperactivity [40,42] in the amygdala and the limbic system compared to healthy controls.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain Processing of Fearful Facial Expression in Mentally Disordered Offenders

Howner¹,

Fischer²,

Dierks³

et al. 2011

JBBS

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Emotional facial expressions are important cues for interaction between people. The aim of the present study was to investigate brain function when processing fearful facial expressions in offenders with two psychiatric disorders which include impaired emotional facial perception; autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and psychopathy (PSY). Fourteen offenders undergoing forensic psychiatric assessment (7 with ASD, and 7 psychopathic offenders) and 12 healthy controls (HC) viewed fearful and neutral faces while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Brain activity (fearful versus neutral faces) was compared both between HC and offenders and between the two offender groups (PSY and ASD). Functional co-activation was also investigated. The offenders had increased activity bilaterally in amygdala and medial cingulate cortex as well as the left hippocampus during processing fearful facial expressions compared to HC. The two subgroups of offenders differed in five regions compared with each other. Results from functional co-activation analysis suggested a strong correlation between the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in the left hemisphere only in the PSY group. These findings suggest enhanced neural processing of fearful faces in the amygdala as well as in other facial processing brain areas in offenders compared to HC. Moreover, the coactivation between amygdala and ACC in the PSY but not the ASD group suggested qualitative differences in amygdala activity in the two groups. Since the sample size is small the study should be regarded as a pilot study.

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Abnormalities in emotion processing within cortical and subcortical regions in criminal psychopaths

Cited by 233 publications

References 76 publications

Functional Neuroimaging in Psychopathy

Functional Neuroimaging in Psychopathy

Neuroticism and psychopathy predict brain activation during moral and nonmoral emotion regulation

Brain Processing of Fearful Facial Expression in Mentally Disordered Offenders

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